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HAY RIVER - A man has been sent to jail for a random sexual assault in Hay River during the summer of 2007.

Noel Junior Avadluk, 36, was sentenced to 12 months in jail, in addition to the 18 months he had been held in custody awaiting trial.

Avadluk, a Yellowknife resident who was visiting a relative in Hay River at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman on June 5, 2007.

On that day, the woman in her 60s was walking up the stairs of a high-rise building when she was followed by Avadluk. As the woman unlocked a door and entered a room, Avadluk pushed inside as the victim struggled to keep the door closed.

According to an agreed statement of facts by the Crown and defence, Avadluk demanded money and the victim gave him the small amount of cash she had.

The situation escalated to a sexual assault, as the assailant held the struggling woman in a chair and on the floor, while he put his hands down her pants and touched her breasts.

Avadluk forcibly confined the woman for more two and a half hours, while she feared she was going to be raped and prayed out loud.

According to the statement of facts, Avadluk eventually told the woman he was going to leave and at one point kissed her on the cheek. Eventually she was allowed to leave, and Avadluk got on his knees and asked her to forgive him.

The woman suffered bruising to many parts of her body as a result of the incident.

"This had to have been a very, very traumatic event for her," said Justice Louise Charbonneau while passing sentence on May 5 during an NWT Supreme Court sitting in Hay River. Charbonneau called the assault degrading to the victim.

Defence counsel Thomas Boyd said Avadluk was using alcohol and drugs at the time of the assault.

However, during his comments to the judge, he did not apologize to the victim, who was sitting in the public gallery.

A publication ban prohibits any information that might identify the victim.

In addition to jail time, Avadluk will be placed on two years' probation following his release. A trial had been scheduled to begin on May 4, but Avadluk pleaded guilty to the charge at a court appearance in Yellowknife on May 1.